BX  9225  .S716  F35 
Fancher,  E.  L.  1817-1900. 
Reminiscences  of  the  late 
Rev.  William  T,  Sprole,  D 


No; 


REMINISCENCES 


OF    THE 


LATE  REV,  WILLIAM  T,  SPROLE,  D.  D, 


BY    ENOCH    L.    FANCHER.  LL.D, 


RITCHIE  &^  HULL, 

Journal  Printing  House  and  Book-Bindery 

Newburgh,  S .  Y. 


REMINISCENCES 


OF  THE 


LATE  WILLIAM  T.  SPROLE,  D.  D., 


BY  ENOCH   L.   FANCHER,   LL.D. 


I 


the   Detroit  Evermig   Neivs,    of    Monday,    June    11,    1883, 
appeared  the  following : 

^  "  Eev.  Dr.  William  T.  Sprole  died  at  his  home,  72  Miami 
Avenue,  late  Saturday  evening,  closing  a  career  of  active  minis- 
terial work,  extending  over  nearly  half  a  century.  Dr.  Sprole 
was  born  at  Baltimore  in  1809.  He  was  educated  at  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  and  after  graduation  assumed  charges  at 
Philadelphia  and  Carlisle,  Pa.,  successively.  In  1842  he  accepted 
a  call  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at  Washington,  where  he 
remained  five  years,  and  during  his  residence  there  also  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  chaplain  in  the  House  of  Kepresentatives. 
In  1847  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Ethics  and  Law  in  the 
West  Point  MiHtary  Academy.     Ten  years  later  he  resigned  his 


professorship,  having  received  a  call  from  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Xewburgh.  In  1874  he  came  to  Detroit  to  accept  the 
pastorate  of  the  Second  Congregational  Church,  to  which  he  had 
been  called,  succeeding  the  Rev.  Mr.  Freeman.  He  resigned  this 
charge  in  1877,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  general  evangelical 
work  and  acting  as  a  supply  pastor  up  to  his  last  fatal  illness. 
Dr.  Sprole  was  a  typical  old  school  gentleman,  with  much  of  the 
military  spirit  in  his  bearing,  and  he  possessed  oratorical  abilities 
of  a  high  order.  He  was  honored  with  the  degree  of  D.  D.  by 
several  different  colleges.  Besides  his  wife,  four  children  survive 
him,  Samuel  M.  Sprole,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  Capt.  Henry  W. 
Sprole,  of  the  Eighth  United  States  Cavahy,  stationed  at  San 
Antonio,  Texas ;  Mrs.  Dr.  Dunster,  of  Ann  Arbor,  and  Mrs. 
Eastman,  of  MinneapoKs.  The  funeral  takes  place  from  the 
Fii'st  Presbyterian  Church  to-morrow  at  2  p.  M.,  and  the  remains 
will  be  taken  to  Indianapolis  for  burial." 

The  lady  referred  to  as  his  wife,  in  the  above  notice,  was  the 
second  wife  of  Doctor  Sprole.  His  first  wife,  the  mother  of  his 
children,  died,  a  number  of  years  ago,  while  on  a  visit  to  her 
daughter  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

I  propose  a  brief  record  of  some  reminiscences  of  Dr. 
Sprole,  who,  for  years,  was  my  intimate  friend.  A  good  hfe 
awakens  memories  like  a  charming  melody.  The  refrain  returns 
to  touch  the  sensibihties  long  after  it  is  spent.  Its  well-remem- 
bered parts  are  recalled  and  the  perception  of  their  excellence 
is  revived.  When  we  have  long  shared  the  counsel  and  the 
companionship  of  a  beloved  friend,  who  has  now  gone,  we 
retrospect  every  familiar  scene  of  his  hfe  with  a  former  dehght. 


From  his  example  we  are  encouraged  to  imitate  his  virtues, 
and  to  follow  in  his  pathways. 

It  seems  beneficial  to  dwell  on  the  characteristics  of  the 
great  and  good  ;  to  enter  into  their  experiences,  and  to  study 
their  habits.  A  review  of  their  traits  of  character  tends  to 
stimulate  our  own  endeavors,  and  lures  us  to  copy  after  them. 
Above  that  of  any  other,  the  life  of  a  faithful  Christian  min- 
ister portrays  phases  of  incident  and  interest,  but  its  history 
deepens  into  pathos,  as  we  stand,  in  contemplation,  near  his 
new-made  grave.  The  memory  of  such,  though  blessed,  is 
mingled  with  regret.  That  of  the  subject  of  this  skotch  is 
fresh  and  fragrant;  yet  the  undertone  of  sadness  is  very  deep 
as  one  attempts  to  write  of  him.  He  had  such  vigorous  life  ; 
such  uninterrupted  health  ;  such  strength  of  constitution,  such 
manly  form,  and  such  physical  endurance,  -all  which  gave  so 
much  promise  of  an  unusually  lengthened  life,  that  it  is  sad  to 
think  of  him  now  as  dead,  and  of  his  earthly  companionship 
and  friendship  as  gone  forever. 

He  was  endowed  with  a  healthful  and  robust  mind,  so  cul- 
tivated as  to  be  ever  strong  to  perceive  and  cherish  the  right, 
and  ever  ready  the  wrong  to  discover  and  resist.  His  talents 
were  employed  for  much  benefit  to  others  durmg  a  long  and 
active  life.  He  had  a  felicitous  power  to  aid  and  cheer  any 
who  needed  encouragement,  and  there  was  such  friendliness  in 
his  help,  that  the  high  and  the  humble  were  alike  grateful  to 


liim.  There  was  force  in  his  words  adequate  to  contend  against 
veteran  opposers  of  the  truth,  and  there  was  at  the  same 
time  exhibited  such  manifest  interest  in  their  welfare  that  a 
friendly  persuasion  went  along  with  a  convincing  argument. 
He  knew,  and  practiced,  the  art  of  being  apparently  one  with 
the  humble  and  lowly.  He  cared  for  them  as  if  he  had  a 
special  mission  in  their  behalL 

In  controversy,  forced  upon  him  but  never  sought,  his 
sword  was  thoroughly  sharp,  his  powder  ever  dry,  and  his 
confidence  of  triumph  in  a  righteous  cause,  well  sustained. 
He  powerfully  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and  a 
judgment  to  come.  That  he  never  yielded  to  impatience  under 
provocation,  need  not  be  denied  ;  but  his  wonderful  reserve 
of  self-reliant  power,  made  him,  in  any  emergency,  complete 
master  of  the  situation.  His  position  was  maintained  with 
heroic  confidence. 

I  first  met  Dr.  Sprole  when  he  had  recently  left  the  chap- 
laincy and  a  professorship  at  West  Point,  and  had  accepted 
a  call  from  the  Fii'st  Presbyterian  Church  at  Newburgh,  N.  Y., 
to  become  its  pastor.  My  summer  home  at  "Elfwood,"  was 
about  three  miles  distant;  we  often  met,  and  our  opening  ac- 
quaintance speedily  ripened  into  the  warmest  friendship.  In 
physical  appearance  he  was  then  a  model  of  manly  strength. 
His  carriage  was  stately  and  dignified ;  his  voice  clear  and 
musical ;  his  eye  loving  and  penetrating ;  his  conversation  fluent 


and  instructive,  and  his  movements  and  gestures  wore  the  cliarm 
of  surpassing  grace  and  self-composure.  Nature  in  unmistaka- 
ble characters  had  stamped  him  witli    her  signet  of   manliness. 

I  went  to  Newburgh  each  Sabbath  during  summer  to  hear 
him  preach.  He  began  his  ministry  to  the  congregation  there 
in  the  old  church  where  the  late  Dr.  Johnston  hud  been  for 
half  a  century  the  pastor.  The  edifice  was  immediately 
crowded.  Even  the  gallery  pews  were  in  full  demand.  I 
was  forced  to  go  there  myself,  and  occupied  sittings  immedi- 
ately behind  the  front  gallery  pew,  in  which  was  constantly 
seated  the  Kev.  Dr.  Potts,  when  he  was  spending  his  vacation 
at  Newburgh.  He  appeared  to  be  one  of  the  most  entranced 
listeners  of  the  audience.  It  was  interesting  to  watch  the 
play  of  subdued  emotion  on  the  faces  of  those  who  crowded 
that  edifice.  During  the  sermon,  a  solemn  silence  was  kept, 
and  every  eye  was  turned  on  the  preacher.  At  passages  of 
his  discourse,  delivered  in  the  ringing  cadences  of  his  strong 
and  well-modulated  voice,  the  hearers  would  evince  a  rapt 
attention,  and  sometimes  bend  toward  the  speaker  Uke  a  field 
of  grain.  The  more  lofty  the  theme,  the  more  perfectly  it 
was  touched  under  the  hand  of  its  master.  A  lasting  per- 
fume seemed  to  arise  from  his  eloquent  discourses,  embalming 
their  influence  in  the  Mieart  long  after  their  delivery  in  that 
old,  well-filled  church,  with  its  crowded  galleries. 

The  edifice  soon  became  too  small  to  accommodate  the  con- 


gregation  to  whom  he  ministered.  It  was  consequently  pro- 
posed that  a  larger  structure  should  be  erected ;  but  there  were 
many  who  long  had  worshipped  in  the  old  church,  to  whom 
the  straight-backs  of  the  painted  pews,  and  the  familiar  old-style 
pulpit,  seemed  sacred.  Their  fathers  had  worshipped  there  ; 
they  and  their  children  had  been  baptised  and  received  into 
communion  there ;  it  was  there  that  the  last  look  at  the 
forms  of  dear  departed  ones  had  been  taken ;  they  thought 
of  the  tears  shed  at  the  chancel  of  that  old  church,  and  could 
careless  hands  tear  it  down  ?  It  was  little  less,  in  their  esti- 
mation, than  sacrilege  !  Yet  the  necessity  of  larger  accommo- 
dations was  so  apparent,  that  a  majority  of  the  congregation 
resolved  upon  the  undertaking.  Lots  were  secured  at  the 
corner  of  Grand  and  South  Streets,  and  on  which  a  new 
stone  edifice  was  erected,  leaving  the  old  one  to  stand.  For 
a  time  some  portion  of  the  remaining  congregation  continued 
to  worship  in  the  old  wooden  edifice ;  but  they,  too,  soon 
yielded  to  the  pressure  of  events.  It  was  taken  down  and  a 
new  one  of  brick  arose  in  its  place. 

In  the  edifice  newly  erected  by  the  trustees  of  Dr.  Sprole's 
congregation,  he  officiated  for  about  sixteen  years.  I  usually 
attended  service  there  every  Sabbath  morning  in  summer. 
His  congregation  rapidly  increased,  and  was  as  select  as  any 
in  the  city.  His  sermons  there  were  eloquent  expositions  of 
sacred    truths — always    sound    and    orthodox. 


There  was  a  mutual  understanding  between  us  that  he  was 
to  visit  "Elfwood,"  on  Monday.  Then,  in  the  confidence  and 
intimacy  of  social  converse,  I  ever  found  him  overflowing 
with  information,  cordiality  and  friendship.  His  company  was 
most  enjoyable.  He  had  been  in  contact  with  many  pubHc 
men,  both  of  the  Church  and  the  State,  and,  touching  them, 
his  reminiscences  and  anecdotes  were  many  and  entertaining. 
His  conversation  was  remarkable  for  pungent  wit,  and  terse, 
almost  epigramatic,  language.  Solid  learning,  general  reading, 
retentive  memory,  and  mental  activity,  enabled  him  readily 
to  evoke  from  the  stores  of  his  knowledge  and  observation, 
abundant  matter  of  amusement  and  instruction.  A  pleasant 
anecdote,  or  a  jocose  remark,  was  delivered  with  the  same 
calm  voice  as  when  discoursing  on  more  sober  themes ;  but 
none  failed  to  notice  the  twinkle  of  his  eyes  as  he  thus  spoke, 
or  the  compression  of  his  lips  as  they  pent  up  the  struggling 
smile.  He  loved  to  talk,  and  bore  a  prominent  share  in  the 
conversation,  though  he  rarely  suggested  the  topic  on  which 
it  was  to  turn,  but  politely  left  that  to  others.  Yet  he  read- 
ily took  up  whatever  was  suggested  by  those  around,  and 
then  drew  rich  treasures  of  thought  and  information  from  the 
mine  they  had  unconsciously  opened.  His  tone  and  manner 
when  in  the  social  circle  were  toiiched  with  a  quiet  and 
grave  humor,  promoting,  not  infrequently,  a  sort  of  subdued 
jocularity,   that  gave   much    zest  and    effect   to    his  utterances; 


10 

but   lie   knew   well   when    and   where   to   lay   aside   the   lighter 
and   adopt   the   grayer   language   and   manner. 

He  honored  me  with  occasional  visits  at  my  home  in  New 
York ;  and  then  as  we  were  alone  at  evening,  it  was  generally 
long  past  the  hour  of  the  "keystone  of  night's  black  arch" 
before  we  retired.  His  convei»6ation  breathed  the  purity  of 
chastened  thought  and  agreeable  familiarity,  when  thus  un- 
restrained. That  we  loved  each  other's  society  I  fondly 
knew.  Kefinement,  originahty,  courteousness,  instructive  con- 
versation, and  affectionate  regard,  added  to  the  value  of  so 
familiar  and  trusted  a  fi'iend.  He  consented  to  receive  my 
reciprocal  expressions  of  regard,  and  would  recognize  them 
in  a  voice  tremulous  with  emotion.  One  Saturday  as  he 
came  to  my  residence,  I  requested  that  he  allow  me  to  men- 
tion his  presence  in  the  city,  to  my  pastor,  the  Kev.  Dr. 
McClintock,  whom  I  knew  at  the  time  to  be  unwell  and  in 
need  of  pulpit  assistance  for  the  next  day.  The  pastor  of 
St.  Paul's  had  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Sprole  at  Car- 
hsle.  Pa.,  and  very  gladly  at  once  solicited  him  to  preach  in 
the  morning.  Dr.  Sprole  did  so,  and  was  at  his  best,  though 
in  a  Methodist  pulpit.  He  dehvered,  without  notes,  one  of 
the  grandest  of  sermons.  The  congregation,  while  listening, 
supposed  he  was  some  distinguished  Methodist  preacher.  For 
the  evening.  Dr.  McC.  had  procured  a  supply  from  a  preacher 
somewhat   sensational    in    style.      What   a   contrast   there    was 


11 

between  the  morning  and  the  evening  discourse  !  Dr.  Sprole 
that  evening  sat  with  me  in  my  pew,  and  the  Kev.  Dr.  For- 
syth was  also  there.  As  these  two  scholarly  and  popular 
preachers  were  walking  in  the  aisle  side  by  side  toward  the 
door  of  the  church,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  evening  service, 
I  overheard  Dr.  Sprole  quietly  remark  to  Dr.  Forsyth, — 
"  John !  you  and  I  don't  know  how  to  preach !  that's  the 
man ! "  The  humor  and  irony  of  the  remark  befitted  the 
occasion.  I  said  to  him,  "Doctor,  is  that  some  of  'the 
hub?'"     "No,"   he   returned,    "It's   tlje   periphery!" 

He  left  no  effort  untried  to  gain  over  to  a  religious  life 
non-professors  who  came  within  the  sphere  of  his  influence. 
Among  such  was  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Newburgh.  That 
gentleman,  under  Dr.  Sprole's  ministry,  became,  late  in  Hfe, 
a  devout  member  of  his  church,  and  died  so,  much  respected 
and  beloved.  But  while  the  struggle  against  conviction  of 
duty  and  a  liking  for  an  occasional  glass  was  going  on,  I 
met  him  one  warm  evening  at  a  crowded  party.  Seeing 
him  indulging  in  a  glass  of  champagne,  I  remarked  to 
him,  "I  thought  Dr.  Sprole  had  induced  you  to  sign  the 
temperance  pledge."  "Yes,"  he  repHed,  "but  this  is  a  very 
drouthy  time,  and  all  sigm  fail  in  a  drouth ! "  His  well- 
intended  purpose,  however,  soon  triumphed,  and  he  became 
a  worthy  member  of  the  church,  and  strictly  temperate  in 
his   habits. 


12 

For  one  entire  summer,  whatever  was  tlie  topic  of  dis- 
course, the  Doctor  seldom  omitted  some  reference  to  the 
subject  of  temperance.  He  thought  there  was  occasion  for 
that  peculiarity  and  earnestness  in  the  state  of  society  at 
the  time.  He  inveighed  against  "tippling,"  and  the  use  of 
intoxicating  stimulants,  with  constant  zeal.  In  one  of  his 
visits  at  "Elfwood,"  he  complained  of  slight  indisposition.  I 
suggested  a  spoonful  of  old  brandy  in  some  water.  He  de- 
murred, and  said  he  had  nothing  of  the  kind  in  his  house, 
and  would  not  on  any  account  purchase  the  stuff.  I  had 
some  long-stored  brandy,  and,  as  he  was  leaving,  placed  a 
bottle  of  it  on  the  seat  of  his  buggy.  He  put  his  hand 
on  it  so  carelessly,  with  such  doubtful  dishke  to  accept  it 
that  I  said,  "  Doctor,  you'll  break  that  bottle  before  you 
reach  home !  don't  do  it ;  it's  good  for  medicine  and  that 
bottle   is   valuable   and   choice." 

He  met  me  the  next  morning  with  a  smile,  in  the  street 
at  Newburgh,  and  said,  "You  are  a  true  prophet.  I  did 
break  that  bottle,  and  the  contents  are  lost."  He  had  placed 
it  at  one  side  of  the  carriage-house,  and  hung  the  harness  on 
a  nail  over  it ;  the  nail  gave  way,  and  the  fall  of  the  harness 
broke  the  bottle.  "But,"  said  he,  "the  aroma  was  very  fine!" 
So  far  as  I  know,  that  was  his  first  and  last  attempt  at 
transporting   a   bottle    of  brandy   to  the   parsonage. 

He  was    a   favorite  of   my  gardener,  and   saluted    him  with 


13 

courtly  formality  as  if  an  equal.  One  day,  the  Attorney- 
General  of  the  United  States  came  from  West  Point,  and 
while  calling  on  Dr.  Sprole  remarked  that  his  wife  was  ill 
at  the  Point,  and  he  had  vainly  looked  for  some  fruit  for 
her.  The  Doctor  said,  "I  have  a  friend  near  this  place, 
and  will  drive  down  there  with  you ;  perhaps  he  has  some 
peaches."  I  was  absent  when  they  arrived,  but  the  Doctor 
and  the  Attorney-General  entered  my  garden,  and,  meeting 
the  gardener,  the  Doctor  said:  "Mr.  William!  permit  me  to 
introduce  the  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States ! "  Will- 
iam was  petrified;  but  stammered,  "God  bless  you,  Mr. 
Attorney-General!  — look  at  the  peaches!"  Of  course,  he  ob- 
tained some  of  them  to  take  to  his  wife,  as  well  as  some  for 
his  own  enjoyment.  I  was  more  than  compensated  for  the 
early  "rare-ripes"  by  the  Doctor's  relation  of  the  visit,  and 
by  the  kind  and  cordial  remembrances  left  for  me  by  the 
distinguished    official. 

Dr.  Sprole  had  a  noble  spirit  of  commisseration  for  the 
misguided  and  the  unhappy.  On  one  of  his  visits  to  me, 
in  New  York,  he  talked  of  the  condition  of  a  young  man 
then  under  sentence  of  death  for  the  murder  of  a  police 
officer.  The  day  of  execution  was  appointed  for  the  ensuing 
Friday.  As  he  spoke  of  the  supposed  agony  of  the  mother, 
he  noticed  my  own  want  of  composure.  I  explained  to  him 
the  cause.     I   was   then   one   of   the   Justices   of   the   Supreme 


14 

Court,  and  on  that  very  clay  I  had  been  Hstening  to  the 
importunate  argument  of  counsel  for  a  writ  of  error  and  stay 
of  execution  in  the  case  of  the  young  man  to  whom  the 
Doctor  had  referred.  I  saw  no  proper  ground  for  granting 
the  application,  and  knew,  if  I  did  not,  the  execution  would 
take  place  in  less  than  a  week.  Terrible  as  is  the  death 
penalty,  it  seemed  to  me  proper  in  that  case  it  should  not 
be  stayed,  there  being  but  slight  ground  of  an  appeal ;  and  I 
stated  to  the  Doctor  my  conclusion.  He  did  not  oppose  me 
in  the  matter  ;  but  the  great  deep  of  his  undisguised  sorrow 
seemed  to  be  stirred.  How  he  sympathized  with  the  dis- 
consolate relatives  of  the  miserable  young  man,  though  he 
knew  them  not,  and  how  gladly,  were  it  proper,  would  he  have 
averted  his  impending  doom !  I  think  that  sleepless  and 
painful  hours  were  passed  that  night  by  at  least  two  persons 
who  were  not  related  to,  or  acquainted  with,  the  convict. 
For  myself,  it  was  one  of  the  most  trying  occasions  of  my 
Hfe ;  but  duty  called  me  to  the  task,  and  I  wrote  an  opinion 
adverse   to   the  stay. 

I  saw  Dr.  Sprole  on  another  occasion,  when  he  was  more 
agitated,  and  was  even  broken  down  with  grief.  Late  at  night 
I  was  awakened  from  sleep  by  the  ringing  of  my  door  bell. 
Kaising  the  window,  I  called  to  know  who  was  there,  and  at 
once  recognized  his  answering  voice  sobbing  and  crying.  "My 
dear   wife    is    dying,"    said   he,    "  will   you    come  ? "     I   accom- 


15 

panied  him  to  his  daughter's  residence,  and  gazed  for  some 
time  at  the  death  scene.  Mrs.  Sprole  was  unconscious,  and 
had  been  from  her  first  and  recent  sudden  attack.  Death, 
from  apoplexy,  soon  occurred  ;  and  while  I  promised  to  go 
for  the  undertaker,  he  prepared  to  go  to  Newburgh  to  arrange 
for   the   solemn   ceremony   of   the   funeral. 

He  who  had  so  often  sympathized  with  others  in  bereave- 
ment, and  had  exhorted  them  to  composure  and  resignation, 
was  now  himself  sadly  in  need  of  a  sympathetic  voice  to 
assuage   his   sorrow   and    to    calm   his   agitation. 

Did  he  remember  me  for  then  attempting  such  a  ministry 
of  friendship,  that  in  after  years,  in  a  similar  sorrow  of  my 
own,  he  poured  forth  such  consoling  utterances  and  spoke 
such  healing  words,  that  I  shall  never  forget  them  ?  I 
supposed  he  was  in  Detroit  when  the  sad  visitation  came  to 
my  home,  and  I  penned  a  telegram  to  him  which  I  was 
carrying  to  Newburgh  to  be  forwarded,  when,  to  my  surprise, 
I  saw  him  coming  toward  me  in  Golden  Street.  As  we  met 
I  handed  to  him  the  telegram,  requesting  his  presence  at  the 
funeral  of  my  wife.  It  was  the  first  he  had  learned  of  her 
decease.  We  were  both  so  much  overcome,  that  few  words 
then  passed.  But,  at  the  funeral,  his  address  was  most  tender, 
appropriate,  and  impressive.  "  I  feel,"  said  he,  as  he  began, 
"  that  my  place  is  among  the  mourners."  "  Here,"  said  he,  in 
his    prayer,    at    the    grave,    "  may    this    dear    body    rest,    un- 


16 

disturbed  by  the  fury  of  the  elements  or  the  violence  of 
the  wicked,  till  Christ  shall  bid  it  rise."  He  had  been  her 
beloved  pastor  and  much  attached  friend,  and  his  kind 
words,  evoked  by  her  lamented  departure,  are  still,  ringing 
in   my   memory. 

It  is  sad  to   think   that   he,  himself,  has   gone,  and  I   shall 
hear   his   familiar   voice   no   more.     Yet,  so  it  is. 

"  There  is  dust  upon  his  brow, 

And  coldness  in  that  kindly  heart, 
That  ne'er  was  cold  till  now." 

Had  he  lived  longer,  and  could  our  intercourse  have  been 
continued,  how  much  I  should  have  learned  from  the  wisdom 
of  his  ripest  years !  As  it  lengthened,  more  and  more  I 
valued  his  friendship.  He  had  so  much  wit  for  the  social, 
and  so  much  wisdom  for  the  serious,  hour.  When  I  had 
been  with  him  there  was  a  feeling  that  something  had  been 
added  to  my  life.  I  had  been  breathing  a  purer  moral  and 
rehgious  air.  His  words  would  touch  the  heart  with  tender- 
ness and  inspire  a  reverence  for  every  sacred  theme  on 
which  he  dilated.  Walking  with  him  along  life's  winding 
shores,  was  like  looking  into  the  calm  of  both  blue  depths — 
the  great  ocean  beneath  and  the  infinite  sky  above.  He  ever 
saw  the  morning  Hght  that  would  dawn  after  the  changes  of 
this  oft-darkened  world,  and  that  dawn  was  illumined  with 
eternal   glory. 


17 

As  one  has  said,  there  is  an  unquenchable  thirst  of  the 
soul  that  is  a  strong  proof  of  its  divine  nature  ;  a  thirst  not 
to  be  allayed  with  the  turbid  waters  of  any  earthly  good,  nor 
of  all  earthly  enjoyments  taken  together.  It  thirsts  after  a 
good,    invisible,    immaterial,    and   immortal. 

It  was  the  frequent  practice  of  Dr.  Sprole  to  discourse 
upon  such  high  and  absorbing  themes  ;  and  then,  cold  was 
the  heart  that  did  not  throb  beneath  his  utterances.  There 
was  a  peculiar  charm  in  his  manner,  and  a  singular  force 
in   his   speech. 

I  have  not  opportunity  to  consider  the  work  which  he  ac- 
complished in  his  ministry  of  fifty  years,  nor  to  allude  to 
the  varied  subjects  he  discussed  in  his  well  prepared  sermons, 
though  I  have  been  favored  with  the  notes  of  several  of  his 
discourses.  They  show  with  what  care,  judgment,  and  mastery 
of  the  subjects,  he  was  accustomed  to  write  ;  but  for  them 
the  limits  of  a  sketch  have  no  room.  Nor  could  the  cold 
reproduction  of  his  written  thoughts  be  made  to  exhibit  the 
magnetism  of  personal  presence  and  manner,  nor  the  adapta- 
tion to  the  special  occasions  when  they  were  deUvered.  To 
appreciate  his  abihties  as  a  preacher,  it  were  necessary  both 
to  see  and  to  hear  him.  That  countenance  so  expressive ; 
that  voice  so  clear ;  that  tone  so  modulated  ;  that  eye  so 
beaming ;  that  gesture  so  appropriate  ;  that  flash  o'er  the  fea- 
tures, and   that  following   peal  of   such   force    and    energy   that 


18 

it  seemed  launclied  from  some  Olympian  throne  of  thought : 
these  were  elements  of  his  preaching.  Only  thus  could  one 
look  through  the  eloquent  style,  to  perceive  the  golden  threads 
that  glittered  in  the  discourse.  It  is  through  the  crystal 
waters  (»f  the  deep  sea  that  pearls  appear  distinct,  and  large, 
and  near  ;  and  so  the  arts  of  expression  hold  up  to  clearer 
view   the  truths   that   had    otherwise    appeared   but  dim. 

There  should  be  added,  of  course,  in  any  sketch  of  Dr. 
Sprole,  the  element  of  an  upright,  faithful,  and  consistent  life. 
His  character  was  that  of  a  true  Christian.  It  had  the 
charm  which  belongs  to  a  noble  and  beautiful  nature.  He 
was  possessed  of  a  pleasing  affability,  free  from  all  affecta- 
tion, and,  in  harmony  with  those  traits,  he  combined  a  dignity 
of  deportment  that  showed  his  seK-command  and  his  cultured 
manner.  But  all  he  had — time,  culture,  eloquence,  manner, 
and  influence,  he  consecrated  to  the  great  work  of  a  Christian 
minister  with  untiring  zeal.  He  who  was  so  lately  speaking 
to  us  here,  that  his  voice  seems  yet  to  be  heard,  is  now  beyond 
the  sun.  I  reverently  pause,  to  drop  the  friendly  tear  and 
to   record   a   loving   tribute   to   his   memory. 


He  bore  his  great  commission  in  his  look, 
And  preached  the  Gospel  rather  than  the  law." 


II 


KECOLLECTIONS  BY  KEV.  JOHN  FOKSYTH,  D.  D. 

Y  DEAR  Judge  Fancher  :  When  we  met  at  the  New 
Irfll  Windsor  Centennial  you  told  me  that  it  was  pro- 
y^^^j^;^;  posed  to  publish  a  memorial  of  our  old  and  de^ir 
friend,  the  late  Dr.  Sprole,  more  permanent  than  a  simple 
funeral  sermon,  and  you  asked  me  to  give  my  recollections 
of  him.  Since  then  I  am  delighted  to  learn  that  the  task 
of  preparing  the  Memoir  of  him  has  been  placed  in  your 
hands.  Certainly  no  one  is  better  fitted  than  yourself  to  ren- 
der a  proper  tribute  to  his  memory,  as  your  close  friendship 
with  him  for  many  years  must  have  enabled  you  to  appre- 
ciate his  qualities  as  a  man,  as  a  Christian,  and  a  pastor 
and  preacher.  For  myself  I  can  hardly  hope  to  add  any- 
thing of  moment  to  what  has  been  so  well  said  in  regard  to 
him  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sutherland  at  Indianapolis,  and  more 
recently  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gardiner,  a  former  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  of  Cold  Spring,  in  the  New  York'  Evan- 
gelist. Still  I  most  heartil}^  join  with  them  in  doing  honor  to 
his   memory   by   bringing   my   chaplet   to   lay   upon   his  grave. 


20 

I  well  remember  my  first  introduction  to  Dr.  Sprole  by 
his  and  my  dear  old  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Chambers, 
for  many  years  the  eminently  successful  pastor  of  an  Inde- 
pendent church  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  in  the  old  Ranstead 
Court  Church  during  a  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  at  the  time  when  the  bitter  war 
between  the  Old  and  the  New  School  was  on  the  point  of 
culminating  in  the  disruption  which  spHt  that  Church  into 
two  hostile  bands,  which,  however,  were  happily  re-united  in 
1869.  I  had  been  just  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  the 
Associate  Reformed  Church  (now  the  Second  United  Presby- 
terian Church  of  that  city,  of  which  my  dear  friend  and  suc- 
cessor, the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  B.  Dales  is  pastor) ;  while  Dr.  Sprole 
had  been  for  some  three  or  four  years  pastor  of  one  of  the 
German  Reformed  churches,  and  had  already  made  his  mark 
as  a  very  popular  preacher  and  pastor.  Brought  up  as  I 
was  in  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Scottish  Presbyterian 
Church,  my  sympathies  then  were  decidedly  Old  School.  Dr. 
Sprole's,  on  the  contrary,  though  then  and  always  Old  School 
in  his  theology,  were  with  the  New  School,  on  account  of 
the  larger  Hberty  of  theological  thought  which  that  school 
demanded,  but  more  especially  on  account  of  its  real  or  sup- 
posed zeal  for  revivals.  Born  and  educated  as  he  was  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  he  naturally  took  a  deep  interest 
in  the  contest   between   these   schools ;    and   it   was   doubtless 


21 

due  to  the  fact  just  mentioned,  that  he  was  called  to  succeed 
Dr.  George  Duffield  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  of 
Carlisle ;  and  at  a  later  day  to  become  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  of  Washington.  The  same  year  that  he 
was  called  to  Carlisle,  I  went  to  Newburgh  as  ])astor  of 
Union  Church,  and  Professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary 
of   the   A.  R.    Church. 

My  intimacy  with  Dr.  Sprole  did  not  really  begin  until 
after  he  came  to  West  Point,  as  Professor  and  Chaplain  in  the 
Military  Academy.  It  was,  perhaps,  partly  owing  to  the  fact 
that  I  had  had  the  ofier  of  the  position  by  President  Polk  ;  an 
honor  which  I  owed  to  the  influence  of  Dr.  Sprole,  and  my 
old  friend  General  A.  C.  Niven,  then  member  of  Congress 
from  this  district,  but  which  I  was  compelled  to  decline,  as  I 
had  been  at  the  same  time  elected  a  Professor  in  the  College 
of  New  Jersey,  at  Princeton.  During  my  collegiate  vacation 
we  saw  a  good  deal  of  each  other,  and  the  more  thoroughly 
I  came  to  know,  the  higher  did  he  rise  in  my  esteem.  I  can 
never  forget  one  Sunday  that  I  spent  with  him  at  West 
Point.  It  was  the  first  Sunday  on  which  he  administered  the 
Lord's  Supper  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Academy.  As  Dr.  Sprole, 
of  course,  used  on  this  occasion  the  Presb}i;erian  ritual,  the 
number  of  communicants  was  very  small,  and  it  included  only 
one  member  of  the  corps  of  cadets.  His  address  at  the  table 
was  one  of  the  best  I  ever  have  heard.    During  my  connexion 


22 

with  the  Military  Academy,  I  often  wished  that  he  could  have 
been  present  on  one  of  our  communion  Sundays,  and  at 
the  cadet  prayer  meeting  on  a  Sunday  evening.  I  am  very 
sure  that  his  heart  would  have  been  made  glad  by  the  great 
contrast,  and  wdth  the  evidence  of  the  greatly  increased 
religious   influences  at  work  in  the  corps. 

Two  of  my  colleagues  in  the  Military  Academy  were 
cadets  during  Dr.  Sprole's  incumbency,  and  they  always  spoke 
of  him  with  great  resjoect  for  his  abilities  as  a  preacher 
and  professor.  His  removal  from  the  Academy  by  Mr.  Jefferson 
Davis,  who  was  then  Secretary  of  War,  considering  the  way 
in  which  it  was  done,  was  an  outrage  of  which  only  such 
a  man  as  Davis  has  shown  himself  to  be  in  other  spheres,  could 
have  been  guilty.  It  was  a  contemptible  instance  of  personal 
revenge.  While  Davis  was  a  member  of  the  Senate,  he  had 
concocted  some  scheme  in  reference  to  the  Military  Academy 
to  which  all  the  professors  were  strongly  opposed.  As  Dr. 
Sprole  had  many  warm  friends  and  old  parishioners  among 
the  Democratic  members  of  the  Senate  and  the  House  of 
Representatives,  he  was  urged  to  go  to  Washington  and  use 
his  influence  with  them  to  defeat  this  scheme  of  Davis,  which 
he  did.  When  Davis  became  Secretary  of  War  under  Presi- 
dent Pierce,  he  was  in  a  position  to  "  get  even "  with  Dr. 
Sprole,  and  he  quickly  availed  himself  of  it.  I  have  reason 
to  know  that  all  Dr.  Sprole's  colleagues,  even  those  who  would 


23 

have  much  preferred  to  hjive  an  Episcopal  rather  than  a 
Presbyterian  Chaplain,  were  of  one  mind  as  to  the  conduct  of 
Davis   in    this   affair. 

I  was  called  back  to  Newburjj^h,  from  Princeton,  in  1853, 
and  when  in  1850  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  became 
vacant  by  the  death  of  the  venerable  Dr.  Johnston,  it  gave 
me  great  satisfaction  to  learn  that  Dr.  Sprole  was  called  to 
succeed  him.  The  church  had  been  a  good  deal  weakened 
by  division  in  regard  to  the  choice  of  a  pastor,  and  a 
considerable  body  of  its  membership  had  withdrawn  to  form 
a  new  congregation,  now  known  as  Calvary  Church  ;  but  from 
the  day  of  Dr.  Sprole's  settlement,  the  old  congregation 
entered  upon  a  new  career  of  prosperity,  which  speedily 
culminated  in  the  erection  of  the  statel}'  edifice  in  which  they 
now  worship. 

Being  residents  of  the  same  city,  and  near  neighbors, 
our  intimacy  became  closer  than  ever,  though  belonging  to 
different  denominations ;  and  so  it  continued  until  my  removal 
to  West  Point,  and  his  departure  from  Newburgh  about  a 
year  later.  If  he  wanted  a  supply  for  his  pulpit,  or  help  in 
any  special  service,  he  was  sure  to  come  to  me ;  and  the 
memory  of  the  days  we  have  spent  together  in  Christ's  work 
will   ever   be    very   precious   to    me. 

That  Dr.  Sprole  was  an  "  able  minister  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment "    and   an   eloquent  preacher   of   the  Gospel,  all  who  ever 


24 

were  acquainted  with  him  must  have  been  well  assured.  To 
those  who  did  not  know  him,  one  need  only  name  the  im- 
portant positions  he  was  called  to  occupy  from  his  entrance 
on  the  ministry  to  its  close  —  in  Philadelphia,  Carhsle,  Wash- 
ington, West  Point,  Newburgh,  Detroit.  Here,  in  Newburgh, 
he  was  a  great  favorite  with  our  Methodist  friends  in  Trinity 
and  St  John's  churches.  He  always  appeared  in  their  pulpits 
without  his  notes,  and  his  sermons,  on  these  occasions,  had 
a  power  and  an  unction  more  than  marked  the  written  ones 
given  to  his  own  people  in  his  own  pulpit.  The  difference 
was  so  marked  that  I  often  begged  him  to  discard  his  notes 
altogether.  He  was,  as  you  know,  a  man  of  very  pronounced 
opinions  on  certain  subjects,  e.  g.,  dancing  and  total  abstin- 
ence ;  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  denounce,  with  great  jDlain- 
ness  and  vigor,  social  usages  which  he  deemed  inconsistent 
with  the  Christian  profession.  I  used  to  think,  and  still  think, 
that  the  influence  of  his  discourses  on  this  class  of  topics 
would  have  been  greater  than  it  was  if  he  could  have  com- 
bined in  greater  measure  than  he  sometimes  did,  the  "  suavi- 
ter  in  modo "  with  the  "fortiter  in  re."  Like  all  other  men 
he  had,  no  doubt,  his  failings,  though  in  his  case  they  "  ever 
leaned  to  virtue's  side."  He  was  evidently  determined  to  tell 
men  the  truth  as  he  understood  it,  whether  they  liked  it 
or  not ;  and  he  will  be  long  remembered  in  Newburgh  as  a 
faithful   and    eloquent   pastor   and   preacher. 


25 

I  deeply  sympathize  with  my  dear  friends,  his  children, 
in  their  ^reat  loss.  But  they  have  the  comfort  in  tliiiikin}^ 
that  he  was  so  long  spared  to  them  ;  that  he  now  rests  from 
his  labors,  in  the  bosom  of  Jesus ;  and  has  bequeathed  to 
them    that    "  good    name    which    is    better    than    great    riches." 

I  am,  very    truly    yours, 

JNO.   FOKSYTH. 

Newburgh,  20th  July,  1883. 


III. 


EEY.  WILLIAM  T.  SPROLE,  D.  D. 

BY   EEV.  A.  S.  GARDINER. 

f  EOM  the  New   YorJc  Evangelut  of  July  5,  1883,  the  follow- 


^(.    ing  article  is,  by  permission,  copied  : 

*^^^  ~  It  was  vA\\\  surprise  and  profound  sorrow  that  the  news  of 
the  death  of  Dr.  Sprole  came  to  my  ears.  I  had  anticipated  for  him 
a  long  and  vigorous  old  age,  withdrawn  as  he  was  from  the  bur- 
dens of  the  pastorate,  and  still  engaging  from  time  to  time  in  his 
life-long  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel. 

It  was  my  pleasure  and  privilege  to  know  Dr.  Sprole  as  a 
personal  friend  and  co-presbyter  for  over  thirty  years.  Our 
acquaintance  began  in  the  village  of  Greenport,  N.  Y.,  in  the 
fall  of  1852.  At  that  time  I  was  the  minister  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  that  village.  I  remember  well  how  on  one  Sabbath 
morning  two  gentlemen  of  noble  bearing,  followed  by  two  lads, 
came  up  the  aisle  of  the  church,  and  took  seats  at  the  right  of  the 
pulpit.  I  little  suspected  who  they  were.  But  at  the  close  of  the 
service  they  stepped  forward  and  introduced  themselves,  first  as 
Rev.  Mr.  Sprole,  United  States  Chaplain  at  West  Point,  and  then 
as  Mr.  Henry  Warner  of  Constitution  Island,  on  the  Hudson. 
The  lads  were  the  sons  of  Prof.  Sprole.  Prof.  Sprole  said  to  me 
aside  that  Mr.  Warner  was  the  father  of  the  author  of  the 
"  Wide,  Wide  World."  To  form  the  acquaintance  of  two  such 
gentlemen,  was  of  course  a  great  pleasure  to  me. 


27 

At  my  urgent  request,  Prof.  Sprole  consented  to  preach  in  the 
afternoon.  The  sermon  I  shall  never  forget.  The  text  was  the 
words  '*  For  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,"  etc. 
Its  influence  is  upon  me  as  I  write.  The  illustrations  were  ni(jst 
original  and  affecting.  And  not  unfrequently  liavci  I  em})loved, 
in  my  discourses  upon  the  same  text,  and  with,  I  may  add,  un- 
usual effect,  the  leading  thoughts  presented  on  that  occasion. 

The  strong  air  of  the  coast  was  injurious  to  my  health, 
and  the  following  May  I  accepted  a  call  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Cold  Spring,  on  the  Hudson,  in  the  heart  of  the 
Higldands.  This  brought  me  into  the  near  neighborhood 
of  West  Point,  and  therefore  of  my  friends.  Prof.  Sprole  and 
Mr.  Warner.  When  Dr.  Johnston,  of  Newl)urgli,  was  invited  to 
moderate  my  call,  he  first  consulted  with  Prof.  Sprole,  who  kindly 
advised  him  to  proceed.  During  a  pastorate  of  twelve  years  at 
Cold  Spring,  I  had  frequent  intercourse  with  Prof.  Sprole  and  his 
family.  We  occasionally  exchanged  pulpit  services,  as  well  as 
family  visits.  His  home  was  a  large  stone  building.  It  stood  not 
far  from  the  parade  ground,  and  commanded  a  line  view  of  the 
river.  His  family  at  that  time  consisted  of  himself,  his  wife,  two 
daughters,  and  three  sons.  A  more  delightful  home  circle  is 
rarely  found.  It  was  a  privilege  to  enter  it.  The  wife  and  mother 
was  a  woman  of  affability  and  dignity  combined.  Grace  marked 
the  daughters,  and  manliness  the  sons. 

Prof.  Sprole  was  nominated  for  the  Chaplaincy  at  West  Point 
by  President  Polk.  And  he  would,  no  doul)t,  have  continued  at 
that  post  until  retired  under  the  regulations,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  unfriendly  course  pursued  by  Jefferson  Davis,  then  Secretary 
of  War. 

The  removal  took  place  amid  the  complications  connected 
with  the  opening  of  the  Kebellion.  It  was,  no  doubt,  the  out- 
come of  the  course  which  disloyal  politicians  had  resolved  to  pur- 
sue as  necessary  to  carry  out  more  effectually  their  schemes  for 


28 

the  dismemberment  of  the  Republic.  The  removal  was  not  only 
unscrnpulons,  but  sudden.  It  involved  Dr.  Sprole  and  his  family 
in  serious  perplexity.  In  about  a  week  from  the  time  of  the 
Doctor's  interview  at  "Washington  with  Jefferson  Davis,  who  told 
him  that  he  should  not  be  hurried  from  his  post,  the  household 
goods  of  the  Doctor's  successor  were  at  the  gate.  This  course 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  Davis  met  with  unqualified  condemnation  from 
some  of  the  leading  men  at  the  Capitol.  General  Cass  and  Rob- 
ert J.  Walker  expressed  their  disapproval  and  regret,  and  with 
others  urged  the  revocation  of  the  order ;  but  in  vain.  So  this 
act  took  its  place  among  many  others,  which  distinguished  and 
disgraced  the  closing  period  of  secession  authority  at  Washington. 

But  Dr.  Sprole,  though  annoyed  and  embarrassed  by  these 
summary  proceedings,  was  soon  invited  to  other  fields  of  labor. 
After  careful  dehberation,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Newburgh,  N.  Y.  In  place  of  the  edifice  where 
the  congregation  had  previously  worshipped,  a  very  large,  sub- 
stantial, and  imposing  structure  was  erected,  and  in  this  the 
Doctor  preached  for  many  years. 

After  the  resignation  of  his  charge  at  Newburgh,  he  spent 
some  time  at  the  West,  and  at  length  accepted  a  call  to  a  large 
and  promising  church  at  Detroit,  where  he  established  a  home, 
and  where  he  resided  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Accepting  a 
charge  at  Detroit  brought  him  within  easy  distance  of  his  elder 
daughter,  wife  of  one  of  the  Professors  of  the  Medical  CoUege  at 
Ann  Arbor.  It  was  my  privilege  to  visit  him  in  his  new  home. 
I  was  much  gratified  to  find  him  surrounded  with  aU  the  conven- 
iences which  makes  home  attractive.  The  Doctor  had  contracted 
a  second  marriage.  His  former  wife,  of  whom  I  have  spoken, 
had  died  some  years  before.  The  scene,  of  course,  had  changed. 
I  had  known  him  when  his  children  were  about  him  ;  now  they 
were  gone.  I  had  known  him  in  the  meridian  of  his  strength  and 
usefulness,    amid  scenes  of  great  interest  in  both    Church   and 


29 

State  ;  now  the  excitements  of  the  past  were  over.  Changes  such 
as  these  deeply  affect  the  heart.  It  requires  no  httle  etiort  for 
the  mariner  long  tossed  upon  tempestuous  seas,  and  accustomed 
through  many  years  to  all  the  employments  and  perils  of  the 
deep,  to  content  himself  with  the  quiet  scenes  of  life  on  land. 
Nor  is  it  less  difficult  for  the  soldier  inured  to  the  fatigues  of 
marches,  and  to  the  fierce  encounters  of  battlefields,  to  lay  aside 
the  accoutrements  of  war,  and  to  walk  the  paths  of  peace,  wliich 
even  his  own  valor  may  have  helped  to  win.  The  thouglit  of 
complete  retirement  from  the  work  of  the  ministry  was  equal  Iv 
distasteful  to  our  brother.  Not  that  he  craved  any  further  prc^ii- 
inent  place  :  on  the  contrary,  he  wished  to  spend  the  remainder 
of  his  strength  and  years  in  some  retired  but  useful  field,  where 
he  might  bestow  the  fruits  of  his  long  and  rich  experience  in  the 
ministry  of  the  Word.  Nothing  could  more  effectually  than  tliis 
relieve  the  pain  incident  to  the  changes  which  our  brother  was 
called  to  meet.  And  so  it  was  granted  him,  after  his  resignation 
of  the  charge  at  Detroit,  to  preach  on.  Providence  opening  the 
way,  until  the  Gospel  trumpet  which  he  had  blown  so  long,  and 
with  no  uncertain  sound,  fell  from  a  nerveless  grasp,  and  the 
Christian  soldier  rested  from  his  work. 

For  those  who  knew  Dr.  Sprole,  and  heard  him  prcacli,  it  is 
not  necessary  for  me  to  write.  But  for  others  I  may  say  that  he 
was  one  of  the  most  agreeable  preachers  that  it  has  ever  been  niv 
good  fortune  to  hear  ;  and  it  has  been  my  habit  frcni  youtli  u}) 
to  wait  on  the  ministry  of  prominent  and  acceptable  men  in 
country  and  city  alike,  and  there  are  but  few  men  of  note  in  this 
country  whom  I  have  not  heard.  There  was  a  peculiar  sweet- 
ness, as  well  as  vigor,  in  what  he  said.  Preaching  either  with  or 
without  notes,  his  words  fell  indue  order,  and  were  noticeable  for 
elegance,  precision,  and  perspicuity.  I  recall  his  preaching  with 
peculiar  pleasure.  It  was  sometimes  so  tender  that  my  eyes  were 
often  filled  with  tears.     I  shall  never  forget  the  sermon  to  which 


80 

I  have  already  referred,  nor  another  preached  one  Sabbath  after- 
noon at  his  church  in  Newburgh.  His  theme  was  "  The  woman 
that  was  a  sinner,  and  who  came  into  the  house  of  Simon  the 
leper  when  the  Saviour  was  his  guest."  The  subject  was  just  in 
the  line  of  the  speaker's  genius  and  sympathies  and  vivid  imagin- 
ation, and  he  brought  out  the  truths  involved  with  great  effect. 
The  audience  on  that  occasion  was  not  large,  but  I  noticed  Judge 
Betts  of  the  United  States  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New 
York,  present,  and  there  was  not  a  more  attentive  listener  in  all 
the  assembly. 

Dr.  Sprole's  fine  personal  presence  lent  interest  to  him  as  a 
speaker.  He  stood  full  six  feet  high.  He  had  a  military  bearing 
in  all  his  movements.  The  expression  of  his  countenance  while 
indicating  firmness  was  full  of  sweetness.  He  was  in  all 
appearances  such  a  speaker  as  an  audience  would  love  to  look  at 
as  well  as  hear.  His  complexion  was  a  rare  mingling  of  red  and 
white.  His  eye  was  piercing,  and  there  was  often  a  twinkle  about 
it  indicative  of  humor.  His  voice  was  clear  and  his  utterance 
distinct.  His  tones  in  speech  were  varied.  There  was  no 
monotony.  And  all  combined  to  make  him  a  captivating  pulpit 
orator. 

In  the  social  circle  he  always  found  a  welcome.  His  familiarity 
with  the  different  spheres  of  social  life  made  him  at  home  in  all. 
With  tender  word  and  gentle  step  he  would  enter  the  homes  of 
the  poor,  and  with  the  same  spirit  he  visited  the  homes  of  the 
affluent. 

In  his  intercourse  there  might  be  perceived  at  times  a  vein  of 
satire,  but  it  was  of  the  facetious  and  discriminating  kind.  On 
one  occasion  when  as  chaplain  he  invited  me  to  exchange  pulpit^ 
with  him,  he  added,  "  I  want  you  to  understand  that  I  never  in. 
vite  anybody  to  preach  for  me  that  I  think  smarter  than  myself.'' 
But  I  had  no  discussion  to  hold,  but  felt  gratified  with  the  kind 
attention   of  my  friend,  several  years  my  senior,  inviting  me  a 


31 

youii<^"  man  to  spt;ak  even  now  and  tlicn  to  tlic  cadcjts  and  otHccrs 
to  whom  it  was  his  special  duty  to  preach. 

He  was  kindly  considerate  of  young  men,  and  especially  of 
young  ministers.  He  often  referred  to  the  sermon  which  1 
preached  the  Sabbath  morning  when  he  and  his  friends  attended 
my  church  in  Greenport.  The  subject  of  it  was  "  Sabljatli 
schools."  Occasionally  he  would  cross  the  ferry  on  the  Sabbatli 
and  attend  service  as  a  hearer  at  my  church  in  tht;  afternoon.  On 
one  occasion  I  preached  a  sermon  which  deeply  moved  the  feel- 
ings of  his  sympathetic  heart.  As  we  left  the  sanctuary,  he  said 
to  me,  "  Well,  brother,  it  won't  do  for  you  and  me  to  sit  under 
one  another's  preaching." 

In  the  Presbytery  his  counsel  was  sought  l^y  his  brethren,  and 
his  judgment  was  regarded.  He  was  always  a  genial  and  attentive 
member. 

In  the  course  of  his  ministry  he  enjoyed  many  honors  not 
accorded  to  his  brethren.  He  preached  in  AVashington,  with 
Senators,  Representatives,  and  the  President's  family  among  his 
hearers.  He  acted  as  chaplain  in  Congress,  and  at  West  Point 
he  was  brought  into  the  society  of  distinguished  persons  from 
our  own  country,  and  from  abroad,  who  visited  the  Military 
Academy. 

But  with  all  these  honors  were  mingled  alilictions.  The  sudihjn 
close  of  his  work  at  West  Point  was  followed  not  long  after  witli 
a  much  more  serious  trial.  When  the  war  for  the  Union  began, 
his  eldest  son,  William,  was  a  young  man  in  business  in  New 
York.  He  had  for  some  time  been  a  member  of  the  '*  Seventh 
Regiment,"  and  with  that  regiment  he  took  his  departure  for 
Washington  and  the  front.  While  stationed  on  Arhngton  Heiglits 
he  contracted  bilious  or  typhoid  fever.  He  returned  to  his  home, 
but  returned  to  die.  After  a  brief  illness,  he  was  numbered  with 
the  nation's  martyrs.  It  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  whole  loving 
household,  but    especially    to  the   bereaved  father  and   mother. 


32 

How  often  had  I,  as  a  guest  beneath  the  parental  roof,  heard  the 
father  pray  for  the  beloved  son,  then  a  stripling  amid  the  tempta- 
tions of  a  great  city.  But  now  the  solicitude  was  over.  But  it 
had  given  place  in  the  father's  and  mother's  hearts  to  the  cry  of 
the  desolate  David,  "  Would  God  I  had  died  for  thee,  my  son, 
my  son  !  " 

But  the  mother  and  son  were  not  to  be  long  separated.  She 
was  a  woman  of  deep  sensibility,  of  quick  perceptions,  of  excellent 
judgment.  She  lived  to  see  the  emptiness  of  so-called  human 
friendships,  of  worldly  honors,  and  she  turned  with  satiety  away. 
After  a  little  while  she  followed  her  beloved  boy  to  the  grave. 
Nay,  she  followed  him  to  glory,  for  he  died  as  he  had  lived — a 
Christian.  And  then  and  there,  under  friendlier  skies,  began  the 
family  gathering,  to  be  completed  when  the  members  of  the  shat- 
tered household  of  earth  shall  be  once  more  assembled. 

Thus  our  brother's  life  was  like  the  lives  of  us  all — made  up 
of  sunshine  and  shadow. 

And  now  he  is  also  gone  to  that  rest  of  which  he  often  spoke 
in  the  sacred  desk.  As  he  sat  desolate  at  the  departiire  of  the 
wife  of  his  youth,  so  now  another,  the  companion  of  his  later 
years,  sits  bereaved  and  desolate  at  his  departure.  So  the  cup 
passes  round  the  circle  of  human  relationship. 

Four  children  of  our  brother  survive  him.  I  remember  them 
when  they  were  young.  I  have  heard  of  them  as  they  passed  out 
into  the  broad  avenues  of  life.  All  reflect  credit  upon  the  home 
that  reared  them.  All  sit  in  the  ashes  of  grief  as  they  reflect 
upon  the  fact  that  they  are  now  orphans.  Surrounded  they  all 
are  with  the  comforts,  and  even  embellishments  of  hfe,  but  the 
presence  of  new  friends,  new  relations,  new  surroundings,  cannot 
shut  out  the  home  of  their  childhood,  and  close  their  ears  to  a 
father's  prayers,  their  eyes  to  a  mother's  smiles  and  tears. 

And  now  we  bid  our  brother  farewell  "  until  the  day-dawn 
and  the  shadows  flee  away." 


33 

But  we  shall  not  forgot  hiio.  We  shall  think  of  him  as  still 
living,  though  absent.  The  inspiration  of  his  love  and  life  will 
abide  with  us.  Heaven  has  notv  to  us  a  new  attraction.  We  shall 
not  again  hear  his  voice  in  the  sacred  desk,  nor  see  him  standing 
at  the  Lord's  table,  nor  join  with  him  in  the  sacred  circle  of  the 
earthly  home.  We  feel  our  loss.  Could  we  impart  to  our  brother 
the  radiance  and  vigor  of  his  youth,  and  reinstate  him  amid  all 
the  possibilities  of  the  present,  we  might  exert  that  power  and 
say  to  him  "  Arise  !  "  But  even  this  would  be  involved  in  incon- 
gruities. The  Lord  gave,  and  tiie  Lord  has  taken  away.  Our 
brother's  work  was  done,  and  it  was  done  Avell. 

Still  it  is  with  us  as  it  Avas  with  the  disciples  of  our  crucified 
Lord.  They  laid  Him  reluctantly  away.  Joseph  of  Arimathea 
with  loving  care  laid  upon  the  pulseless  bosom  the  pierced  hands, 
but  he  would  far  rather  have  clasped  the  hands  of  the  living 
Christ.  And  so  we  lay  our  brother,  Christ's  minister,  away.  We 
place  the  evergreen  upon  his  coffin.  But  O  that  sin  had  never 
begotten  death,  nor  death  a  grave ! 


IV, 


ADDEESS  AT  THE  FUXEEAL  OF  EEV.  WILLIAM  T. 

SPEOLE,  D.  D., 

AT   THE   FIEST   PEESBYTERIAX    CHURCH,    DETROIT,  JUNE  12,  1883,  BY 
EEY.  GEO.  D.  BAKEE,  PASTOR. 

T  KNOW  of  nothing  more  beautiful,  nothing  which  more  glori- 
Ipj  fies  the  grace  of  God  in  sinful  man,  than  a  calm,  peaceful, 
^  joyful  and  useful  old  age.  Such  an  old  age  as  was  exem- 
plified in  him,  God's  loYed  and  honored  servant,  whom  to- 
day we  are  reverently  carrying  to  his  burial.  He  came  among 
us  when  he  was  no  longer  young  ;  at  an  age  when  ordinarily  the 
buovancy  and  sparkle  of  hfe  have  departed,  and  given  place  to  a 
certain  sedateness  and  gravity,  indicative  of  the  approach  of  the 
end.  But  how  young  we  found  him  whom  the  years  made  old  • 
How  full  of  life  and  vigor,  of  cheer  and  hope !  Into  aU  our  plans 
and  projects  how  enthusiastically  he  entered  as  one  "putting  on" 
rather  than  "  putting  off  the  harness  !  "  Instead  of  seeking  rest 
and  freedom  from  the  burdens  of  the  ministry,  he  coveted  work 
— hard  work.  He  insisted  upon  going  to  the  front  and  hazarding 
his  life  "  in  the  high  places  of  the  field."  He  was  a  veteran  who 
had  no  desire  for  the  retired  list,  but   was  ambitious  for  service 


35 

where  the  battle  was  fierce  and  hot.  We  came  to  look  upon  him 
as  a  "minute  man,"  ready  at  a  moment's  notice  to  go  wherever 
he  was  called  ;  and  hence  it  was  that  he  occupied  a  position 
among  us,  with  reference  to  all  our  churches,  the  weaker  as  well 
as  the  stronger,  which  caused  us  to  depend  much  upon  hiia  for 
counsel  and  for  service.  And  he  never  once  failed  us,  we  never 
asked  of  him  help  in  vain.  Always  loyal  to  our  Church  for 
Christ's  sake,  always  true  to  us  because  we  were  Clirist's  servants, 
he  was  as  a  Bishop  among  us.  There  are  man-made  Bishops, 
and  there  are  those  constituted  such  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  God 
made  him  a  Bishop,  a  man  to  command  or  to  lead,  and  we  will- 
ingly granted  him  his  prerogative,  "  Primus  inter  pares."  I 
desire  to  testify  to-day,  speaking  for  his  brethren  in  the  ministry, 
not  only  to  his  faithful  and  earnest  service  among  us,  but  also  to 
the  generosity,  the  magnanimity,  the  unselfishness  which  ever  and 
everywhere  characterized  it. 

I  have  said  that  it  was  given  us  to  know  him  only  when  the 
period  of  youth  and  middle  age  had  passed,  and  he  was  drawing 
near  the  bound  of  life.  But  from  what  we  saw  and  knew  of  him 
in  these  closing  years,  we  can  well  believe  all  that  is  told  us  of 
his  strength  and  beauty  when  he  was  in  the  midst  of  his  days ; 
that  senators  and  judges  at  the  capital  of  the  nation  hung  upon 
his  eloquent  lips,  while  he  instructed  them  in  righteousness  ;  that 
in  the  position  to  which  he  was  called  in  the  military  school  at 
West  Point,  he  commanded  the  respect  and  even  the  affection  of 


36 

the  students,  as  being  himself  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ, 
while  brimful  of  the  loftiest  and  purest  patriotism.  But  we  envy 
not  those  who  enjoyed  his  ministrations  in  those  earlier  years. 
We  are  content  with  what  God  gave  us,  his  gentle,  ripe,  benefi- 
cent, blessed  old  age.  We  shall  sadly,  truly  miss  him,  and  often 
sigh  for  his  strong  and  cheering  presence.  But,  remembering  his 
own  example  of  hopefulness  and  courage,  we  Avill  turn  away  from 
his  bier  to  emulate  his  virtues,  and,  God  helping  us,  to  be  "  faith- 
ful unto  death  "  even  as  was  he.  We  are  in  sorrow  but  not  in 
despair.  When  Frederic  Barbarossa  was  leading  his  German 
Crusaders  in  the  twelfth  century  on  their  march  through  Asia 
Minor  to  Jerusalem,  he  heard  of  the  death  of  his  only  son.  As 
the  tears  coursed  down  his  snowy  beard  he  turned  to  his  army 
and  said  :  "  My  son  is  dead,  but  Christ  lives — Forward  !  "  We 
mourn  to-day  the  departure  of  our  father,  brother,  friend,  but 
we  still  hear  those  words  which  in  dying  he  spake,  illustrative  of 
his  faith  and  a  reminder  of  the  fulness  of  joys  which  now  are  his. 

"When  I've  been  there  ten  thousand  years, 
Bright  shining  as  the  sun, 
I've  no  less  days  to  sing  His  praise, 
Than  when  I  first  begun." 

We  cannot,  we  do  not  think  of  him  as  dead.  "  He  is  alive 
for  evermore."  He  has  joined  the  blood-bought  company  of  the 
elected  and  the  chosen.  He  is  in  the  presence  of  the  King  !  God 
"  has  made  him  most  blessed  forever." 


V, 


THE  LATE  DK.  SPKOLE. 

THE  FUNERAL  SERVICES — ADDRESS  BY  REV.  DR.  SUTHERLAND. 

^p^DDITIONAL  particulars  contained   in   tlio   following   ac- 
'%c   count  of  the  funeral  services  taken  from  the  Indianapolis 


i 

^)^  Journal  of  June  14,  1883  : 


The  funeral  services  of  the  late  Kev.  Dr.  Sprole,  who  died  at 
Detroit,  Mich.,  Saturday,  June  9,  were  held,  on  yesterday  morn- 
ing, at  the  residence  of  Mr.  James  Brown,  according  to  notice. 
The  remains  arrived  from  Detroit  on  the  morning  train,  in  charge 
of  Mr.  D.  M.  Ferry,  of  Detroit,  and  were  accompanied  by  his 
daughters,  Mrs.  Dunster,  of  Ann  Arbor,  and  Mrs.  Eastman,  of 
Minneapolis,  also  his  son,  Prof.  8.  M.  Sprole,  from  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.  A  large  number  of  old  settlers  were  present,  to  wliom 
Dr.  Sprole  was  well  known  in  the  early  days  of  the  city.  The 
floral  tributes  were  beautiful  and  profuse.  The  pall-bearers  were 
ex-Governor  Baker,  John  F.  Wallick,  John  A.  Holliday,  Dr.  C.  N. 
Todd,  Sergeant  Wappenhaus,  Thomas  H.  Sharpe  and  Dr.  \\  .  0. 
Thompson.  The  services  were  conducted  by  the  Kev.  Dr.  Suther- 
land, of  Jacksonville,  111.,  assisted  by  Be  v.  Messrs.  C.  H.  BayuKjnd 
and  L.  G.  Hay,  of  this  city.  Dr.  Sutherland  delivered  tlie  address, 
of  which  the  following  is  a  synopsis,  as  it  appeared  in  the  Indl- 
anapolis  Daily  Journal: 


88 

Were  I  simply  to  consult  mj  own  feelings  upon  this  occasion, 
my  liiimble  tribute  to  the  memory  of  him  whose  spirit  has  passed 
into  the  Unseen  and  Eternal  would  be  that  of  silent  grief.  When 
the  death  angel  summoned  him  to  go  hence,  he  summoned  one  of 
the  most  constant  and  devoted  friends  of  my  life.  I  have  reason 
to  believe  that  he  watched  my  career  with  as  much  interest  as  if 
I  had  been  his  own  son,  and  whatever  success  I  have  achieved  in 
the  vocation  to  which,  in  the  providence  of  God,  I  have  been 
called,  the  credit  of  it  is  in  no  small  measure  due  to  the  wise  coun- 
sel and  kindly  interest  of  our  departed  friend.  His  memory  will 
ever  be  precious  to  me,  and  the  thought  that  I  held  so  warm  a 
place  in  his  affections  will  continue  to  be  a  source  of  unspeakable 
pleasure.  In  view  of  the  friendship  and  affection  which  bound 
us  together,  you  can  appreciate,  in  some  measure  at  least,  my 
feelings  upon  this  occasion.  I  only  wish  I  were  able  to  picture 
Dr.  Sprole's  life  before  jou,  to-day,  in  all  the  fulness,  richness 
and  beauty  in  which  it  lies  in  my  own  mind  and  heart.  But  the 
proprieties  of  the  occasion  demand  that  I  should  not  speak  of 
myself  or  for  myself,  but  rather  of  the  public  life  and  labors  of 
the  deceased,  and  of  these  but  briefly  under  the  circumstances. 

Born  in  the  year  1809,  his  early  life  began  almost  with  the  be- 
ginning of  our  century,  and  continued  throughout  all  these  event- 
ful years,  growing  in  strength  and  beauty,  in  Christlikeness,  to  the 
close.  As  a  man,  Dr.  Sprole  was  a  prince  among  princes.  He 
had  doubtless  his  failings  and  weaknesses,  but  they  were  held  in 
check  by  the  higher  self,  which  swayed  the  scepter  of  his  princely 
manhood.  In  early  life  his  associates  were  wisely  chosen,  and 
some  of  them,  who  subsequently  became  distinguished  in  the 
church  and  in  the  State,  had  much  to  do  in  the  moulding  of  his 
character  and  the  shaping  of  his  future  career — among  whom 
might  be  mentioned  the  late  Eev.  Dr.  Erskine  Mason,  of  whose 
splendid  talents  and  life-long  friendship  Dr.  Sprole  often  spoke 
to  myself  when  recalling  the  associates  and  recounting  the  expe- 


39 

rioiir(^s  of  otlior  years.  Witli  such  o()]nj)nni()nslii|)  onr  dccoascvl 
friend  entered  upon  his  pre[)circibiun  lor  tiie  (Jiiristian  ministry,  to 
wliicli  profession  lie  had  decided  to  consecrate  his  litV;  and  his 
talents.  His  literary  studies  woa'c  prosecuted  in  the  College  of 
Baltimore,  and  under  the  supervision  of  Eev.  Dr.  Duncan,  who 
for  upward  of  fifty  years  was  the  beloved  pastor  of  the  Fayette 
Street  Church  of  that  city.  Dr.  Sprole  graduated  from  Princeton 
Seminary  in  the  spring  of  1830,  and  soon  after  his  licensure  came 
to  this  city,  in  company  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Colonel  Blake,  a  lady 
in  whose  tender  sympathies  and  widely  known  hospitality  are 
manifested  that  family  trait  which  so  strikingly  marked  the  char- 
acter of  her  illustrious  brother.  Before  returning  East  he  spent 
several  months  in  Terre  Haute,  and  while  there  organized  a  Pres- 
byterian church.  On  his  return  to  Baltimore  he  received  a  call 
to  become  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  church  in  Orange  County,  New 
York,  and  on  his  way  to  look  over  the  field  he  remained  a  few 
days  at  Philadelphia  Avith  his  friend,  Mr.  Chambers,  and  while 
there  was  waited  u]K)n  by  a  committee  from  one  of  the  German 
Keformed  churches  of  the  city,  Avliose  pastorate  Avas  then  vacant. 
He  was  strongly  urged  by  them  to  accept  a  call  and  become  their 
pastor,  which,  after  consulting  his  friends,  he  concladed  to  do. 
Although  so  young  and  inexperienced  at  the  time,  Dr.  Sprole's 
pastorate  in  Philadelphia  was  marked  by  what  might  be  truly 
called  a  phenomenal  success.  The  membership  increased  within  the 
three  years  of  his  ministry  there,  from  about  50  to  over  GOO.  The 
success  which  attended  his  labors  in  Philadelphia  brought  him 
into  widespread  notice  throughout  the  East,  and  when  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Duffield  resigned  his  charge  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Carlisle,  Pa.,  he  strongly  urged  his  people  to  call  Dr.  Sprole, 
which  they  did.  After  some  hesitation  he  accepted,  and  con- 
tinued as  pastor  of  that  church  for  a  period  of  about  seven  years, 
when  he  assumed  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church    of  Washint^Hon,  D.  C,  and  was  at  the  same  time  elected 


40 

cliapl-iin  to  Congress.  The  First  Presbyterian  Cliurcli  was  at  the 
time  known  as  the  "Administration  Church."  President  Polk  and 
his  family  and  a  majoritv  of  the  members  of  his  cabinet  were 
regular  attendants  there.  Dr.  Sprole's  popularity  in  Washington 
was  not  won  at  the  sacrifice  of  truth  or  by  pandering  to  the  whims 
and  tastes  of  men.  Like  the  great  Apostle,  he  was  ever  deter- 
mined not  to  know  anything  among  the  people  save  Jesus  Christ 
and  him  crucified.  In  this  connection  it  might  not  be  out  of 
place  to*  relate  an  incident  which  strikingly  illustrates  Dr.  Sprole's 
fidelit}'  to  the  simple  truth  of  the  Cross,  as  well  as  the  impression 
which  his  course  in  this  regard  made  upon  some  of  the  leading 
men  in  Washington  at  the  time  of  his  pastorate  there.  The  Unita- 
rians had  just  organized  a  church  and  called  a  talented  young 
man  from  Boston  to  become  their  pastor.  A  deputation  from  the 
new  organization  waited  upon  Eufus  Choate,  Senator  from  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  urged  him  to  attend  their  services,  believing,  as 
they  were  free  to  say,  that  the  distinguished  Senator's  presence 
would  materiall}'  aid  and  popularize  their  new  church  venture. 
They  said  to  Mr.  Choate  :  "  The  gentleman  whom  we  have  called 
to  the  pastorate  is  a  poet,  a  philosopher  and  an  orator,  and  we 
have  no  doubt  you  would  be  charmed  with  his  preaching."  Sena- 
tor Choate  listened  to  them  patiently  until  they  got  through,  and 
then  turning  to  the  leader  of  the  deputation  firmly  said  :  "  I  shall 
not  attend  your  services,  sir.  When  I  want  poetry  I  can  go  to 
the  masters.  When  I  want  philosophy  I  can  go  to  the  original 
sources.  When  I  want  oratory  I  can  do  a  little  of  it  myself.  But 
when  I  want  to  hear  about  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  I  propose  to 
go  down  to  Four-and-a-half  street  to  hear  Mr.  Sprole." 

Tow^ard  the  close  of  President  Polk's  term  of  office  he  ap- 
pointed Dr.  Sprole  chaplain  at  West  Point,  which  position  he 
held  for  about  ten  years,  when  he  was  removed  by  President 
Pierce,  at  the  instigation  of  the  then  Secretary  of  War,  Jefierson 
Davis.     The  First   Presbyterian    Church    of   Newburgh,  on    the 


41 

Hudson,  ^vas  vacant  at  the  tim(^,  and  Dr.  Sprolc;  was  imani- 
rnonsly  invited  to  become  its  pastor.  This  cliincli  Ii.kI  l)een 
weakened  by  dissensions  and  wrecked  by  divisions,  l)ut  it  was  not 
long  after  Dr.  Sprolc  assumed  charge  of  it  before  harmony  was 
restored  and  it  began  to  show  signs  of  new  life  and  vigor,  and 
when  he  resigned  his  charge,  after  a  pastorate  (^f  about  eighteen 
years,  it  was  one  of  the  largest,  the  most  prosperous  and  most 
influential  Presbyterian  churches  in  this  country.  While  settled 
at  Newburgh,  Dr.  Sprole  was  twice  called  to  his  old  charg(?  in 
Philadel])hia,  as  well  as  to  several  other  prominent  pulpits  in  the 
East.  But  these  indications  of  popular  favor,  while  they  were 
doubtless  gratifying  to  him,  did  not  tend  to  make  him  restless  in 
the  position  in  which  the  provi-lence  of  God  had  placed  him.  No 
man  was  ever  freer  from  a  self-seeking  spirit  than  was  he. 

Whenever  he  spoke  of  his  public  career  in  my  presence  he 
never  failed  to  make  acknowledgcnnents  of  God's  g<3odness 
through  it  all ;  and  in  fact  the  same  gratitude,  the  same  s])irit  per- 
vaded his  references  to  his  social  and  domestic  relations.  How 
often  have  I  heard  him  use  the  expression,  "()  how  thaidvful  T 
ought  to  be  to  God  for  His  great  goodness  toward  mt\'* 

I  shall  not  prolong  this  imj)erfect  sketch  of  his  life.  Aftrr  th«^ 
resignation  of  his  charge  at  Newburgh,  his  career  is  more  or  less 
familiar  to  all  of  you  who  are  present  here  to-day.  Almost  t)  the 
close  of  his  earthly  life  he  continued  to  preach  the  gospel.  It  was 
his  peculiar  delight  to  tell  "  the  old,  old  story  of  Jesus  and  His 
love."  His  preaching  was  always  fresh,  vigorous,  scriptural  and 
tender.  He  was  one  of  those  who  in  spirit  never  grow  old. 
Although  for  four  years  living  on  "  borrowed  capital,"  as  we  say, 
he  was,  in  the  "  inward  man,"  which  was  renewed  day  b}-  day,  as 
youthful  and  buoyant  as  when  he  entered  upon  his  first  pastoral 
charge  and  charmed  the  multitudes  by  his  fervid  ehxpienc*'  and 
persuasive  appeals. 

One  of  the  chief  excellencies  and  charms  of  his  preaching  was 


42 

his  devotion  to  truth  and  the  power  of  his  own  personality  behind 
his  utterances.  He  himself  lived  the  gospel  h^  preached.  This, 
too,  was  largely  the  source  of  his  personal  influence  over  men. 
When  one  stood  in  his  presence  he  could  not  help  feeling  that  he 
Avas  standing  in  the  presence  of  a  man  worth}^,  to  the  fullest 
extent,  of  his  confidence  and  esteem  ;  one  who  ever  strove  to 
exemplify  the  spirit  and  the  teachings  of  his  Master.  It  is  a  note- 
worthy fact  that  never,  during  a  public  career  of  over  half  a 
century,  did  he  do  aught  that  tended  to  bring  reproach  upon 
himself  or  discredit  upon  the  profession  to  which  he  belonged. 
To  all  his  noble  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  were  added  a  com- 
manding presence  and  grace  of  manner  rarely  to  be  met  with. 
Xever  would  he  permit  himself  to  overstep  the  bounds  of  pro- 
priety in  his  intercourse  with  men,  or  allow  himself  to  disregard 
the  little  courtesies  which  are  due  from  man  to  his  fellows,  and 
which  throw  a  charm  over  social  life.  But  wli}^  should  I  detain 
you  further  ?  To  you,  to  the  most  of  you  at  least,  who  are  present 
here  to-day  to  pay  your  last  tribute  of  respect  to  his  memory,  he 
was  known  and  appreciated.  His  life-work  is  ended.  He  has 
gone  to  his  rest  and  to  his  reward — a  reward  immeasurably  great 
in  itself,  and  as  I  believe  greater  still  in  its  possibilities.  It  but 
remains  for  us  to  profit  by  the  record  of  his  noble  and  eventful 
life,  to  imitate  his  virtues,  and  we  too  may  look  forward  with  con- 
fidence and  expectancy  to  the  time  when  we  shall  put  off  this  our 
clayey  tabernacle  and  when  our  spirits  shall  be  borne  by  the 
angels  to  a  new  life, 

"Far  from  tlie  discord  loud, 
Far  from  the  striving  crowd. 

Far  from  the  din, 
Far  from  the  burning  tears. 
Far  from  the  trembling  fears, 
Far  from  the  sin." 


DATE  DUE 

i 

HIGHSMITH  #45115 

